Adjustable arch support for a shoe

ABSTRACT

A shoe is provided with an adjustable arch support which is constructed to permit ready adjustment of the height and curvature of an arch formed on the insole of the shoe. An adjustment screw means is positioned to be rotated for lifting and lowering at least one arch-forming plate means located under the insole of the shoe. Downward pressure through the adjustment screw means is distributed by a pressure distribution plate positioned above the outsole of the shoe and secured at its rear end to the heel portion of the shoe. The adjustment screw means may be a accessible from the bottom, or inside of the shoe. The adjustable arch support may be included in a safety shoe construction.

United States Patent 11 1 Matteson 14 1 Feb. 26, 1974 1 ADJUSTABLE ARCH SUPPORT FOR A 21 Appl. No.2 240,772

Related US. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 32,327, Apr. 27,

1970, Pat. No. 3,667,473, which is Continuation-inpart of Ser. No. 877,753, Nov. 18, 1969, abandoned.

521 u.s.c1..: 128/597,128/612 [51] Int. Cl. A411 5/14 [58] 'Field of Search... 128/597, 598, 609, 612, 599, 128/608, 601, 596

1,853,550 4/1932 Copithorn 128/598 1,885,259 11/1932 Hirshfie1d.. 123/597 2,704,406 3/1955 Dangman 128/597 Primary Examiner-Charles F. Rosenbaum Assistant ExaminerJ. Yasko Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cushman, Darby &

Cushman [57] ABSTRACT A shoe is provided with an adjustable arch support which is constructed to permit ready adjustment of the height and curvature of an arch formed on the insole of the shoe. An adjustment screw means is positioned to be rotated for lifting and lowering at least one archforming plate means located under the insole of the shoe. Downward pressure through the adjustment screw means is distributed by 'a pressure distribution plate positioned above the outsole of the shoe and secured at its rear end to the heel portion of the shoe. Theadjustment screw means may be a accessible from the bottom, or inside of the shoe. The adjustable arch support may be included in a safety shoe construction.

8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEB FEB26 I974 SHEET 3 OF 3 ADJUSTABLE ARCH SUPPORT FOR A SHOE This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application US. Pat. Ser. No. 32,327, filed Apr. 27, 1970 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,473, which is, in turn, a continuation-in-part of application US. Pat. Ser. No. 877,753, filed Nov. 18, 1969 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION It is known in this art to provide for various adjusting screw devices which have the effect of raising and lowering a portion of the insole of a shoe so as to adjust the arch formed in the shoe. Prior art attempts to provide for adjustable arches in shoes have considered the use of screws that are accessible from the bottom, back, or inside of the shoe so that adjustment can be made with a tool. Other arrangements have required a removal or movement of a portion of the shoe to gain access to an adjustment screw device. Representative patents in this art include the following: US. Pat. Nos. 692,338; 961,174; 1,091,696; 1,199,911; 1,242,317; 1,523,353; 1,558,192; 1,644,762; 1,716,958; 1,809,010; 1,856,377; 1,885,259; 1,890,383; 1,948,638; 2,050,973; 2,114,089; and 2,295,364.

For one reason or another, known prior art efforts have failed to provide for a marketable arrangement which can be economically produced and which is comfortable and easy to use. The present invention offers an improved adjustable arch support for a shoe which is readily adaptable to existing methods of shoe construction and which provides for easy adjustment in arch comfort in a shoe. In accordance with the invention, the sole portion of a shoe is provided with a laminate structure made up at least of an insole and an outsole, and preferably an intermediate sole is included between the insole and outsole. Working components of the adjustable arch support are positioned within the laminate structure of the shoe sole so as to provide for a comfortable adjustment of the shoe arch while also completely concealing the components and protecting the foot of a wearer from the components. The working components which make up the adjustment device of this invention include a single pressure distribution plate positioned above the outsole of the shoe (and below the intermediate sole) and which is secured at various points to the outsole and heel portion of the shoe. An arch-forming plate means is positioned above the intermediate sole and below the insole of the shoe, and the arch-forming plate means is free to move forwardly and backwardly to establish a natural positioning of the arch-forming plate relative to the arch of a wearer. An adjustment screw means is operatively positioned and secured for rotation between the pressure distribution plate and the arch-forming plate means so that the height and curvature of the plate means can be changed when the adjustment screw means is rotated. Further, the adjustment screw means has an enlarged head portion which prevents a loss of the screw means into the interior of the sole construction and which is readily accessible for adjustment without removal of any portion of the shoe construction.

Preferably, the arch-forming plate is provided with a groove formation on its underside so as to be guided in its forward and backward movements by a free end of the adjustment screw means which is received in the groove formation. It is also preferred that the pressure distribution plate be reinforced so as to receive the adjustment screw means therethrough in a threaded relationship. The reinforcement functions to transmit downward pressure from the adjustment screws onto the pressure distribution plate so that there is a good distribution of pressure from the arch area of the shoe.

The invention may be included in a safety shoe construction of a type in which a steel cap is provided in the top area of the shoe.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the more detailed discussion which follows. In the detailed discussion, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings as briefly described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a shoe, partly in section, showing the basic components and relationships of the adjustable arch support of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 1 showing a greatly enlarged section of the adjustable arch support of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a pressure distribution plate used in the assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view, in elevation, of basic components used in the shoe construction shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of an arch-forming plate means and an insole of the assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an elevational side view of a T-shaped reinforcement member which may be used with a pressure distribution plate in an alternative construction;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the reinforcement member shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a pressure distribution plate utilized with the assembly shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view, in section, of a toe portion of a safety shoe utilizing the adjustable shoe constructions of this invention; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a steel cap used in a safety shoe construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION The shoe construction which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a sole laminate made up of three general layers of leather or rubber, although a different number of layers of leather or other material may be used if desired. The sole is made up of an outsole 10, an intermediate sole 12 and an insole 14, all of which are placed one upon the other as illustrated in FIG. 1. The insole 14 is contacted by the bottom of the foot of a wearer, and working components are provided for adjusting the height and curvature of an arch area of the insole so as to provide for a comfortable adjustment of the shoe. The insole portion of the shoe is removable and replaceable, and it is not necessary to tack or secure the insole in place. The working components include a metal, arch-forming plate means 16 positioned just beneath the insole of the shoe. The arch-forming plate floats to conform itself to the position of the arch of a wearer. Also, it can be seen that the arch-forming plate means is interposed between the insole 14 and the intermediate sole layer 12. A metal pressure distribution plate 24 is interposed between the intermediate sole 12 and the outsole l0, and this plate functions to support and receive pressure from an adjustment screw means 26. The pressure distribution plate is secured by nails or other fastening devices 18 to the heel portion 20 of the shoe at its rear end and to the outsole and intermediate sole, as shown in FIG. 2. Preformed holes (as shown in FIG. 3) are provided in the pressure distribution plate for receiving nails or other fastening devices therethrough. The adjustment screw means 26 is operatively positioned between the arch-forming plate means 16 and the pressure distribution plate 24 in such a way that rotation of the adjustment screw adjusts the height and curvature of the arch-forming plate means 16 in accordance with linear travel of the adjustment screw means. An inner end of the adjustment screw means directly contacts and bears against the archforming plate means 16. A groove formation 52 is provided in the arch-forming plate means to receive a free end of the adjustment screw means, thereby providing for a guiding of the arch-forming plate means as it floats forwardly or rearwardly without lateral displacement. The groove formation 52 may comprise a groove stamped into the body of the arch-forming plate and is typically about one and one-fourth inches long and one-fourth inch wide. In accordance with the invention, the adjustment screw means 26 is provided with an enlarged head portion 28 which is immediately accessible for turning without removal of any portion or part of the shoe construction. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, the enlarged head portion 28 depends downwardly so as to be accessible from the bottom of the shoe. The enlarged head portion may be provided with a slot or recess for receiving a tool, such as a screw driver or Allen wrench, and its outside surface may be roughened to provide for. manual turning of the screw adjustment means. By providing an enlarged head on the adjustment screw means 26, extreme movement of the adjustment screw means into the interior of the shoe is prevented. This overcomes a problem presented by some prior art arrangements which place no limit on an adjustment screw in its movement into a shoe sole.

Also, it can be seen from FIG. 1 that the adjustment screw is threaded through a reinforced section 30 of the pressure distribution plate 24. This section functions to secure the adjustment screw means 26 to a portion of the shoe construction so that the screw can be rotated and threaded towards and away from the archforming plate means 16. In the views of FIGS. 1 4, the reinforced section 30 has a depending collar portion 32 which is fitted through a hole in the pressure distribution plate 24 and through an opening formed in the outsole of the shoe. The reinforced section may be formed integrally with the pressure distribution plate 24 or may comprise a separate member, having a T- shaped profile in vertical elevation, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 secured to the pressure distribution plate. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6, the depending collar portion 32 extends through the outsole 10 to receive and protect the enlarged head portion of the adjustment screw means. This permits a firm mounting of the adjustment screw means relative to the shoe so that rotation of the adjustment screw means can be made in carefully controlled increments of adjustment. Also, it can be seen that downward forces from the insole of the shoe will be transmitted through the adjustment screw means 26 and onto the pressure distribution plate 24 through the reinforced section 30. This prevents damage to the shoe sole and maintains all working components of the adjustable arch support in place.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pressure distribution plate 24 is sandwiched between the outsole 10 and an intermediate sole 12 of a typical shoe construction. The outsole 10 may be provided with a recessed area to receive the rectangular pressure plate 24 if desired. Such an arrangement, together with a provision for a downwardly depending collar portion 32, provides for a tight fit of the pressure distribution plate 24 to the outsole of the shoe, and this prevents moisture and foreign matter from entering interior portions of the shoe. Further, a provision for a downwardly depending protective collar 32 serves to shield the enlarged head portion of the adjustment screw means 26 so as to prevent tripping or snagging of the enlarged head portion on surfaces contacted by the shoe.

The pressure distribution plate 24 may be of the general configuration shown in FIG. 3 with its reinforced section 30 formed integrally therewith. Ridges or corrugations 25 may be formed along the length of the pressure distribution plate to make it more rigid to sup port a load from the adjustable arch construction of the shoe. Preformed holes 19 are provided in the pressure distribution plate 24 for receiving fastening devices 18.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate further details of the structures and relationships which have been discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1 3. The FIG. 4 view shows a number of components which would be placed in a shoe assembly to provide an adjustable arch support. As with the previous illustrations and discussions, element 14 represents an insole portion of a shoe construction, and this insole may be only slightly larger in size than the arch-forming plate means 16 which it covers, as shown in FIG. 5. In such a case, an additional insole may be provided on top of the insole 14 to cover the entire bottom of the shoe, if desired. The pressure distribution plate 24, of the FIG. 4 view is formed integrally with the reinforced section 30. The reinforced section 30 includes a downwardly depending collar portion 32 through which a bore 51 is formed and threaded to receive the adjustment screw means 26.

FIGS. 6 8 illustrate a reinforced section 30 which comprises a separate member secured to a pressure distribution plate 24 having a large aperture 50 formed therethrough. In all other respects the reinforced section is similar to that described in the integral type of construction described with reference to FIGS. 1 4. It can be seen that the separate member 30, of the FIG. 6 embodiment, has a T-shaped profile in vertical elevation. As with the previously described embodiment, a downwardly depending collar 32 provides for a recess area into which the enlarged head portion of the adjustment screw 26 can be received.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a typical construction for a safety shoe in which a steel cap 60 is included in the toe of the shoe. The steel cap 60 is sandwhiched between the outer layer of leather, or other material, of the toe area of the shoe and an inner layer of leather or fabric 62.

Thus, it can be seen that the adjustable arch support of this invention provides for an arch-fonning plate which can move freely to various positions in a shoe construction. For example, the arch-forming plate 16 can move freely or backwardly to positions which are (a) immediately forward of the heel, (b) in a normal arch position intermediate the heel and the toe, or (c) at a forward position near the toes or ball of a foot.

Although the invention has been described by reference to particular embodiments, it can be appreciated that substitutions of equivalent structures and functions can be made. For example, the pressure plate 24 and its associated structure, and the arch-forming plate 16, may be formed from synthetic resins or plastic materials, if desired. Different lengths of adjustment screw means can be provided for proper adjustment of high, normal, or low arches, while still providing for a flush mounting of the enlarged head portion of the adjustment screw within the recess area defined by the downwardly depending collar 32 of the pressure distribution plate. Different heights and configurations for the archforming plate 16 may be made available for insertion into a given pair of shoes at the time of fitting the shoes to a customer. The arch-forming plate is formed with one side higher than the other, and a range of heights may be made available'to a customer for insertion into a given assembly. Typically, the outside margin of the arch-forming plate is lower than its inner margin. For example, a high arch-forming plate may be provided with a maximum curvature on its high side of approximately inch above the intermediate sole of the shoe upon which it is placed, and its low side may form a low curve of about 3/16 inch from the top of the intermediate sole. A typical low arch-forming plate would provide a maximum curvature on its high side of about /1 inch above the top surface of the intermediate sole, and its low side would contact the intermediate sole with no clearance. These plate measurements represent typical clearances prior to any adjustment of the arch-forming plate with the adjustment screw means 26.

All substitutions which would be obvious to those skilled in this art or which would be considered equivalent to what has been disclosed are intended to be included in an interpretation of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved adjustable arch support for a shoe comprising in combination a shoe having an outsole and a heel portion,

a pressure distribution plate positioned above the outsole of the shoe and secured at its rear end to the heel portion of the shoe,

an arch-forming plate means positioned above said outsole and below an insole of the shoe, said archforming plate means having a longitudinal groove formation on its lower face, and said arch-forming plate means being free to move forwardly and backwardly within said shoe for establishing a natural positioning of an arch for the foot of a person wearing the shoe,

an adjustment screw means operatively positioned and secured for rotation about a vertical axis between said pressure distribution plate and said arch-forming plate means so as to adjust the height and curvature of said arch-forming plate means when it is rotated while permitting limited forward and backward movement of the arch-forming plate means as determined by an engagement of said adjustment screw means with said longitudinal groove formation.

2. The improved shoe of claim 1 wherein said adjustment screw means is received in a threaded opening formed completely through said pressure distribution plate means.

3. The improved shoe of claim 1 wherein said adjustment screw means has (a) an enlarged head portion positioned at an accessible point relative to the shoe so that adjustment can be made readily without removal of any portion or part of the shoe construction, and (b) a free end portion which is received within said groove formation for preventing lateral displacement of the arch-forming plate means.

4. The improved shoe of claim 1 and including an intermediate sole positioned above said pressure distribution plate and below the insole of the shoe.

5. The improved shoe of claim 3 wherein said pressure distribution plate includes a reinforced section for receiving said adjustment screw means, said reinforced section having a threaded opening formed completely through the pressure distribution plate to allow passage of said adjustment screw means therethrough.

6. The improved shoe of claim 5 wherein said reinforced section of the pressure distribution plate includes a downwardly directed collar into which said enlarged head portion of said adjustment screw can be re ceived.

7. The improved shoe of claim 5 wherein said adjustment screw means passes through the outsole of the shoe so that the enlarged head portion is accessible from the bottom of the shoe.

8. The improved shoe of claim 5 wherein said reinforced section comprises a member having a T-shaped configuration in vertical profile and which passes through an opening in said pressure distribution plate and is secured thereto so as to define a threaded passage through which said adjustment screw means is fitted for linear adjustment along a substantially vertical axis. 

1. An improved adjustable arch support for a shoe comprising in combination a shoe having an outsole and a heel portion, a pressure distribution plate positioned above the outsole of the shoe and secured at its rear end to the heel portion of the shoe, an arch-forming plate means positioned above said outsole and below an insole of the shoe, said arch-forming plate means having a longitudinal groove formation on its lower face, and said arch-forming plate means being free to move forwardly and backwardly within said shoe for establishing a natural positioning of an arch for the foot of a person wearing the shoe, an adjustment screw means operatively positioned and secured for rotation about a vertical axis between said pressure distribution plate and said arch-forming plate means so as to adjust the height and curvature of said arch-forming plate means when it is rotated while permitting limited forward and backward movement of the arch-forming plate means as determined by an engagement of said adjustment screw means with said longitudinal groove formation.
 2. The improved shoe of claim 1 wherein said adjustment screw means is received in a threaded opening formed completely through said pressure distribution plate means.
 3. The improved shoe of claim 1 wherein said adjustment screw means has (a) an enlarged head portion positioned at an accessible point relative to the shoe so that adjustment can be made readily without removal of any portion or part of the shoe construction, and (b) a free end portion which is received within said groove formation for preventing lateral displacement of the arch-forming plate means.
 4. The improved shoe of claim 1 and including an intermediate sole positioned above said pressure distribution plate and below the insole of the shoe.
 5. The improved shoe of claim 3 wherein said pressure distribution plate includes a reinforced section for receiving said adjustment screw means, said reinforced section having a threaded opening formed completely through the pressure distribution plate to allow passage of said adjustment screw means therethrough.
 6. The improved shoe of claim 5 wherein said reinforced section of the pressure distribution plate includes a downwardly directed collar into which said enlarged head portion of said adjustment screw can be received.
 7. The improved shoe of claim 5 wherein said adjustment screw means passes through the outsole of the shoe so that the enlarged head portion is accessible from the bottom of the shoe.
 8. The improved shoe of claim 5 wherein said reinforced section comprises a member having a T-shaped configuration in vertical profile and which passes through an opening in said pressure distribution plate and is secured thereto so as to define a threaded passage through which said adjustment scrEw means is fitted for linear adjustment along a substantially vertical axis. 